Oak Ridge Today

Power restored to Oak Ridge except for Arboretum

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Electric crews repair the damage caused by a crash into a TVA high-voltage transmission tower next to South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Power was restored to all of Oak Ridge except for the University of Tennessee Arboretum after a crash knocked down a high-voltage transmission tower Friday afternoon, the city said Friday night.

The single-vehicle crash caused the tower to fall over and created widespread power outages. Many residents reported having power restored within about one to three hours, while it seemed to take longer to restore power in the southeast section of the city, closer to the crash site.

In its last update, posted at 10:10 p.m., the City of Oak Ridge said the Arboretum will be without power through Saturday.

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Charges pending, three injured in crash into TVA transmission tower

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Charges are pending after a crash into an electrical transmission tower that caused widespread power outages Friday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2021, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Charges are pending and three people were injured in a single-vehicle crash into a large high-voltage transmission tower that caused widespread power outages Friday afternoon, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

The crash was reported at about 4:15 p.m. Friday at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

A preliminary report from the THP said Dustin Elliot, 28, of Mobile, Alabama, was driving a white 2015 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck north on South Illinois Avenue (State Route 62) when he went off the right side of the road and hit the Tennessee Valley Authority transmission tower. The tower was damaged, knocked over, and leaning over the road.

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Large transmission tower knocked down, causing power outages

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A large electrical transmission tower was knocked down in a crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2021, causing widespread power outages. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 1:30 a.m. Jan 23.

A large high-voltage transmission tower was knocked down in a crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, causing widespread power outages.

Power went out in sections of Oak Ridge at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. Stoplights were not operating, and South Illinois Avenue was closed to traffic in a section north and south of the University of Tennessee Arboretum. Traffic was backed up for miles, and drivers were redirected to alternate routes.

A heavily damaged white pickup truck was at the crash site. An overturned Bobcat was behind the pickup truck.

The City of Oak Ridge said the pickup truck hit the transmission tower. The driver of the truck involved in the crash and a passenger had injuries that were not life-threatening, the city said. Both were taken to local hospitals.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

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Protesters will say nuclear weapons illegal under UN treaty

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OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12
Members of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s Uranium Processing Facility in April 2013. (File photo)

Protesters plan to hang a banner at a nuclear weapons production site in Oak Ridge early Friday afternoon that will declare the weapons illegal under a United Nations treaty.

The banner, which will say “Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal,” will be hung on a fence across from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Scarboro Road. The banner will be hung after parts of the international agreement—the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—are read, organizers said.

Protesters said they also plan to hang a poster of the text of the treaty and 122 yellow “X”s on the fence, one for every nation that voted in favor of the treaty at the United Nations.

“January 22, 2021, will be a historic day for nuclear weapons,” according to a press release from Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, which has organized weekly and annual events opposing nuclear weapons for many years. “On that day, at midnight, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force, establishing in international law a categorical ban on nuclear weapons, seventy-five years after their development and first use.”

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VITA Tax Center opens Feb. 9

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The Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) is now in its fourth decade of helping community residents to complete and file tax returns.

The 2021 VITA Tax Center will open on Tuesday, February 9, and it is again located at the United Way of Anderson County at 728 Emory Valley Road. The Center will be open from Tuesday through Saturday. The new operating hours are from 1-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. There will be no evening hours.

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Roane State temporarily closes Coffey-McNally Building

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Roane-State-Coffey-McNally-Building
The Roane State Community College campus in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College has temporarily closed the Coffey-McNally Building because of a recent increase in self-reported COVID-19 cases on the Oak Ridge Branch Campus.

The closure of the Coffey-McNally Building is a precautionary measure, Roane State said in a press release. The building closure took effect Wednesday evening.

The reported cases appear to be isolated, and all those affected are observing quarantine, Roane State said. The Coffey-McNally Building will be thoroughly cleaned before its planned reopening on Monday, January 25, the college said. The Goff Building will remain open.

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TVA will blast rock to build substation

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The Tennessee Valley Authority is building a substation off Old Edgemoor Lane at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road in east Oak Ridge. The construction work is pictured above on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority and its work crews will blast rock in the next several weeks to build an electrical substation in east Oak Ridge. The new substation is being built before the Bull Run Fossil Plant, across the Clinch River in Claxton, closes in 2023.

The blasting was scheduled to start Thursday, January 21, but it was delayed due to weather. When it starts, the blasting work could last three weeks, TVA said in a press release. Controlled, low-charge detonations will be used to blast the rock. Blasting will occur periodically between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and traffic and pedestrian controls will be in place, TVA said.

The new Anderson County substation site is off Old Edgemoor Road at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road.

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Council to consider accepting airport grants

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This is an aerial image of a layout plan for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport at the Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority)

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider accepting grants for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport on Tuesday.

The airport would be built along Highway 58 on the south side of the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site.

Council will meet online to consider accepting the airport grants in a special session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 19. You can watch the meeting here.

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Police chief to speak to League of Women Voters on Tuesday

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Robin Smith

Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith will speak to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The meeting will be virtual, conducted online, because of COVID-19. It is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, January 19.

Smith has served with the Oak Ridge Police Department since 2012. He served as a lieutenant for two years before being promoted to captain and then deputy chief, a press release said. He was appointed ORPD chief in October 2018.

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Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will feature ORHS principal

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Garfield Adams

A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday morning will feature Garfield Adams, Oak Ridge High School principal.

It’s the 33rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Program, and it’s titled “The Community Speaks.” The theme for this year’s program is “A Change Has Come.”

The program is virtual, and it will be on Zoom Webinar. The program will feature a past first-place winner of the NAACP Essay Contest, a press release said.

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Controlled burns start this week on DOE land

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The U.S. Department of Energy is starting a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation this week.

The controlled burns could continue through mid-April, depending upon weather. The burns will be on the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Three Bend Area off Pump House and Bull Bluff Roads, and other managed grassland areas off Bethel Valley Road and off Highway 58, a press release said.

The controlled burns will take place at:

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Current status of city facilities due to COVID

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Oak Ridge officials continue to ask residents to conduct municipal business over the phone and by phone when possible because of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge released an update about city facilities as the world continues to be affected by the pandemic.

The city said it is supporting the Tennessee Pledge of the state government. You can refer to State of Tennessee websites for updates and advice on precautions to be taken by particular businesses, a press release said.

City facilities will continue to be operated as below as precautions and security matters are considered for the safety of employees, and social distancing for customers, the press release said. Visitors may receive a temperature scan and be asked about their current health, the press release said. You can call the city manager’s office or department offices on the city’s website for more information.

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